TTOA Chapter 68

#68

“Yes, tell me. I’ll do anything for you. Really, anything.”

Seo Eui-woo, having packed all the luggage, lowered Kwon Jae-jin from the air. He spread his arms, adjusting his ability to fit him perfectly into his embrace.

Smiling, Seo Eui-woo hugged Kwon Jae-jin and kissed him on the lips as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Kwon Jae-jin briefly touched his lips to his and then calmly and firmly recited,

“Teach me how to shoot a gun.”

His dark and resolute eyes, having emerged from a difficult crisis, were already looking ahead to what came next.

“I need to practice shooting. In preparation for emergencies.”

Leaving the mountain villa, Seo Eui-woo and Kwon Jae-jin completely destroyed the site to shake off any potential trackers. They split the ground, causing a landslide, and buried all traces of the building under piles of earth and rocks.

*

Military Strategy Headquarters, located on the top floor of the Center’s Central Building.

A top-secret area restricted to those who are not so-called generals, officers with stars on their shoulders. In this headquarters room, confidential strategy meetings are held every week, attended only by generals and above.

It can be difficult to grasp how high up a general is.

Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Master Sergeant, and Warrant Officer are non-commissioned officer ranks corresponding to trainees undergoing regular education.

Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, and Captain are company-grade officer ranks corresponding to members of special task forces. Captain Seo Eui-woo belongs to this category.

Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel are field-grade officer ranks corresponding to commanders of special task forces. Major Ma Tae-o and Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san belong to this category.

Above them are generals. Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, and General are general officer ranks corresponding to commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

From the rank of general onward, there is a mix of Espers and non-Esper civilians. However, they all have in common that they have risen to the lofty position of national leaders through all sorts of turmoil and are powerful figures.

A small number of commanders who wield public power.

The survival and security of the nation depend on their decisions and directives.

Therefore, Major Ma Tae-o, summoned to the Military Strategy Headquarters, swarming with monstrous generals, could not help but be rigidly tense.

An S-rank Mutant Guide.

To be summoned to the Military Strategy Headquarters just for reporting his existence.

Faced with an unprecedented situation, Major Ma Tae-o, dressed in his best combat uniform rather than his combat gear, headed to the top floor of the Center’s Central Building.

This area had a different layout and could only be accessed using a specially isolated elevator. Before that, he had to complete Esper Identification Tag verification, followed by personal identification and passage through a full-body scanner for security screening.

Passing through the strict security, Major Ma Tae-o stood before the headquarters room, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

It was a magnificent and vast conference room, so much so that he momentarily flinched.

In the front, there was a large flag of the new government, and on the ceiling and walls, the emblems of each military branch – Army, Navy, and Air Force – were hanging. Also, instead of real windows, artificial glass windows were installed on the walls to control the internal illuminance, seemingly to maintain thorough security so as not to be exposed to the outside.

In the center of the conference room, a huge table was placed in a U-shape, and seats were densely packed from the head to the foot.

Major Ma Tae-o had devoted his entire life to the military as a formal Esper special task force member, but even generals whom he had never met were gathered there.

Starting from the foot of the table, the Operations Commander, Defense Commander, Special Commander, Air Force Commander, Logistics Commander, Training Commander, and Fleet Commander, corresponding to the rank of Brigadier General, were lined up. Above them, the Army Commander, Navy Commander, and Air Force Commander, corresponding to the rank of Major General, occupied the head seats. In the highest seats, the Central Military Commander and the Central Military Vice Commander, both with the rank of Lieutenant General, were present.

The highest rank, General, the Central Military Chief of Staff, had an empty seat, but that was no longer important.

It was commendable that Major Ma Tae-o, standing before the steely-eyed veterans, was able to properly salute according to procedure without being intimidated.

“This is Major Ma Tae-o, Deputy Commander of the 7th Special Task Force.”

“Hmm. I’ve heard the report that came up. There was a Mutant, right? In the Northwest?”

“Yes, sir, that’s correct, Brigadier General.”

“Are you certain it’s an S-rank Guide?”

“Yes, there is no mistake. There was a clear difference from other Guides, to the point that I noticed the abnormality immediately after contact.”

“Hmph, tch. This has become a headache.”

Brigadier General Oh, the Army Operations Commander, lightly clicked his tongue. He twirled the pen in his hand and gave a brief explanation.

“Listen. Even after dispatching search teams to the area, neither the Mutant’s corpse nor any part of his body, not even a single strand of hair, was found. If there had been anything, we would have found it using the Tracking Type Esper’s ability.”

Seeing the other generals silently standing back with their hands behind their backs, it seemed that the higher-ups had already made a decision through a confidential meeting, and Brigadier General Oh was tasked with delivering that decision to Major Ma Tae-o.

“About 1 km radius of the area near the site was completely blown away. Major Ma, do you think this phenomenon is natural?”

“Negative.”

“Can you determine what happened at that site?”

“That is also negative.”

“Then we must find out. The Mutant who infiltrated the Special Residential District, whether he is alive or dead, and his whereabouts. The cause of the abnormal explosion. The identity of the Esper who committed the illegal act. We must identify all other risk factors as well. That is what we sitting here must do.”

“Yes, issue your orders, Brigadier General.”

Major Ma bowed respectfully.

This man, who combed back every strand of his hair to reveal his forehead, was originally a principled person who valued rules and regulations and obeyed orders from above.

However, he had been quite shocked by the Guiding of the S-rank Guide and had simply felt an undeniable desire and longing as an Esper.

“Good. S-rank Mutant Guide Kwon Jae-jin, we will first capture this individual alive.”

“…….”

“After capturing him, we will find and arrest the criminals behind him, and Kwon Jae-jin will be transferred to the Research and Development Center for bio-experiments and dissection observation. If the results are good, we may be able to artificially cultivate and train S-rank Guides in the future.”

“…….”

“One thing. If capture is not possible, kill him immediately.”

“…….”

“If there are signs of an abnormal situation like last time, an explosion or something, don’t hesitate to kill him. If a certain capture is impossible, certain elimination is the next best option. Do you understand?”

At the heavy, resounding orders of his superior, Major Ma Tae-o quietly blinked.

The experienced Brigadier General did not miss the momentary gap.

“Yes… It’s probably puzzling why we would call a mere subordinate like you to this place to give such orders. Also, you might wonder if we really have to kill the first S-rank Guide, even if he is a Mutant, and that his Guiding was quite remarkable. Am I right?”

“……Yes, Brigadier General. If you would explain your intentions, I will take them to heart.”

“Major Ma Tae-o. Why do you think we kill Mutants as soon as they are discovered? What is the reason, in your opinion?”

“Because Mutants are uncontrollable risk factors.”

“That’s right. But why exactly? Is it because the Mutant’s Core is incomplete and immature? No, that’s not a big problem. Even if they can’t feel Resonance with other Cores, it’s not a major obstacle to using their abilities and Guiding. If I had to point out one thing, it’s that their Core is easily broken, so they are likely to die more easily than other Espers.”

“Then, is it because they have not completed regular education? Like the other discarded, uncompleted candidate trainees?”

“That answer is half right and half wrong. To put it simply, the conclusion is because of cost.”

“……Cost, you say?”

“Yes. Cost. In this desolate land, with Gates and Creatures erupting everywhere, the reason humanity has been able to thrive this much is that we have thoroughly adopted the simplest, clearest, and most proven primitive dichotomy.”

Brigadier General Oh tapped the table with his pen. He crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his knee, and twisted his waist crookedly in his swivel chair.

Shedding the demeanor of a working-level officer, he was now the image of a military powerhouse who sat in a high position and possessed arrogance.

“The role of men is to hunt. The role of women is to give birth and raise children. Espers fight, and civilians give birth to and raise offspring. Clear, isn’t it? Very? Modern humanity is extremely primitive. Culture, society, technology, resources, none of it is at the level of development. That’s why we have no choice but to divide and separate roles. Only then can we survive. This is the best we can do until the system matures and passes on to future generations to prosper.”

“…….”

“Civilians know nothing about combat. They don’t know the grave responsibilities that Espers bear. Now, it costs too much to take on all the risks and teach them everything from scratch.”

“……That S-rank Mutant Guide seemed to have quite the aptitude. His judgment was quick, he tried to shoot a pistol even in a crisis situation, and he didn’t freeze in fear even when facing five Creatures. If properly trained, perhaps…….”

“Hmph, you’re still mistaken. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then…….”

“Mutants, you see, cannot Guide.”

“Yes?”